What is memory? Memory is the process of the brain by which it stores past experiences or information and then helps in recalling these experiences or information at a later time. There are three central processes of memory- encoding, storing and retrieval. Encoding is the registration of the information which is received by the brain. A record of this information is then kept in the brain by the process of storing. Finally, through the process of retrieval, this stored memory is then recalled by the brain and this is when an individual remembers something. In Ariel Dorfman’s 1990 play Death and the Maiden, memory serves to be the central theme based on which the rest of the play develops. The play is set right after the fall of General Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte’s regime in Chile in March 11, 1990. During Pinochet’s regime, Chile experienced the worst of horrors at the hands of men in power. The citizens didn’t have any rights and public beatings and forced sexual encounters were rampant. One of the victims of these sexual encounters was Paulina Escobar who was raped repeatedly by Doctor Roberto Miranda while she was in his captivity. What made these sexual encounters more appalling was the fact that he always blindfolded her when he sexually violated Paulina. He would also play the composition ‘The Death and the Maiden’ by the renewed Austrian composer Franz Peter Schubert whenever he would force himself on her. The memory of being sexually exploited is something which has been permanently engrained in the mind of Paulina Escobar. And this memory serves as the foundation for the entire play, as the rest of the play is focusing on the effect of this memory on Paulina. Paulina seems to be suffering from long-term ment... ... middle of paper ... ...ially in the play we had seen how Paulina would use short sentences while Gerardo would be the one doing the talking; but ever since Paulina got the possession of the gun, her helplessness seems to have disappeared, as if she is using that gun and pointing it at Doctor Miranda in an attempt to get rid of her memory. Paulina uses this situation as if recreating it from her own memory, but changing the variables; she is changing herself into Doctor Miranda and Doctor Miranda takes the place of Paulina in this altered version of her memory. Now, instead of Doctor Miranda, Paulina is in power. And this is just because of her possession of the gun. Hence, we see how important a factor memory is in Death and the Maiden; most importantly for Paulina. The characteristics and the personality of an entire character as well as the plot of the play is based on just one memory.
Memory is both a blessing and a curse; it serves as a reminder of everything, and its meaning is based upon interpretation. In Julia Alvarez’s In the Time of the Butterflies Dedé lives through the memory of her family and her past. She tells the stories of her and her sisters lives leading up to their deaths, and reflects upon those memories throughout her daily life. Dedé lives on for her sisters, without her sisters, but all along carrying them with her throughout her life, never moving on. Dedé lives with the shame, sadness, and regret of all that has happened to her sisters, her marriage, and her family. Dedé’s memories serve as a blessing in her eyes, but are a burden
Esperanza tries to be a good friend to Sally, but ends up appearing immature and silly. Esperanza feels shame, as she “wanted to be dead”, to “turn into the rain”, and have “my eyes melt into the ground like black snails” (Cisneros 97). With sensory-rich imagery, the author uses similes and metaphors to describe Esperanza’s feelings of utter mortification as she embarrasses herself in front of Sally. Esperanza becomes confused about her newfound sexuality and her loss of innocence when she begins acting strangely, yet awkwardly around boys. She doesn’t know whether to act like a child or an adult because although she wants to be mature and glamorous like Sally, and she gets exposed to the harsh nature of society. The disillusioned view of becoming mature and having boys notice her is especially realized by Esperanza when she gets raped at a carnival. Through detailed imagery, Cisneros describes the dirtiness of the boy, elaborating on “his dirty fingernails against my skin” and “his sour smell again” (Cisneros 100) and the confusion and anger from Esperanza. After this experience, Esperanza blames Sally instead for covering up the truth about boys and is heartbroken about the real truth of sexuality and men. It is clear that Esperanza vividly remembers this awful experience, and just reflecting on this experience causes her thoughts to
Paula Vogel’s play, How I Learned to Drive, artistically tackles the disturbing issue of incestual pedophilia. The play’s protagonist Li’l Bit narrates the action as she goes through her memory of specific events. Much like stream of consciousness, her narration does not lead chronologically to scenes in her past. Rather it jumps back and forth between the present and different points in her life. She tells of her memories of youth and her sexual and emotional relationship with her Uncle Peck. Rather than simply telling about her experiences, though, Li’l Bit shares her memories through vignettes which show the audience her role in the affair within the context of learning to drive (Greene 425).
Through this short story we are taken through one of Vic Lang’s memories narrated by his wife struggling to figure out why a memory of Strawberry Alison is effecting their marriage and why she won’t give up on their relationship. Winton’s perspective of the theme memory is that even as you get older your past will follow you good, bad or ugly, you can’t always forget. E.g. “He didn’t just rattle these memories off.” (page 55) and ( I always assumed Vic’s infatuation with Strawberry Alison was all in the past, a mortifying memory.” (page 57). Memories are relevant to today’s society because it is our past, things or previous events that have happened to you in which we remembered them as good, bad, sad, angry etc. memories that you can’t forget. Winton has communicated this to his audience by sharing with us how a memory from your past if it is good or bad can still have an effect on you even as you get older. From the description of Vic’s memory being the major theme is that it just goes to show that that your past can haunt or follow you but it’s spur choice whether you chose to let it affect you in the
In Erzulie’s Skirt, the reader sees two disoriented women awaking to the harsh reality that they have been tricked and imprisoned after their voyage. They are then locked in a concrete room with nothing but their clothing and two beds, forced to work as prostitutes for the personal gain of a racist woman named Delia. In the brothel, Micaela and Miriam are made to allow men to enact their sexual desire and unnatural fetishes, and if they dare to resist or refuse, they are beaten nearly to death. In the most obvious way, this position mirrors the treatment ...
Throughout the plays, the reader can visualize how men dismiss women as trivial and treat them like property, even though the lifestyles they are living in are very much in contrast. The playwrights, each in their own way, are addressing the issues that have negatively impacted the identity of women in society.
The first issue that needs to be addressed however is what exactly is memory? “ Without memory we would be servants of the moment, with nothing but our innate reflexes to help us deal with the world. There would be no language, no art, no science, no culture. Civilization itself is the distillation of human memory” (Blakemore 1988). The simple interpretation of Blakemore’s theory on what memory is that a person’s memory is at least one of the most important things in their life and without it civilization itself could not exist.
The author tells the reader story of the teenage girl, who’s suffering from difficulties in the relationship with surrounding her people, such as her friends and wax copy of the president Roosevelt, – “the only man who has ever called her pretty” (Coyle 366). Through all the story the reader can be a witness of the violence against the girl, for example, when Franklyn D. Roosevelt makes her cry for no reason (“She’s kneeling in a wax museum on her first date, crying…”), communicates in not appropriate way (“Send me a pic of ur boobs, says the third [message]”) (Coyle 366,368). In this case we can see not only typical violator’s behavior, but also the reaction, which majority of the women have: belief that “no one will ever love [her]” (Coyle
Measure for Measure also speaks to the commodification of sex by highlighting female virginity, those who are and those who aren't. In this play, female virginity functions as a...
This seemed to follow a pattern. Rain, who was recruited into sex trafficking at age 11, claimed her pimp only had minors in his “stable”. To keep control of his victims he threatened them by threatening their families. Finally yet importantly is Cindy who, along with other women, were intimidated and trapped within a home to insure their obedience. Their stories depict a world dominated by shame, regret, and fear.
...ve been suffering mental abuse by their husband. This play presents the voice of feminism and tries to illustrate that the power of women is slightly different, but can be strong enough to influence the male dominated society. Although all women are being oppressed in the patriarchal society at that time, Glaspell uses this play as a feminist glory in a witty way to win over men. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters solve the crime by reflecting on Minnie Wright’s unhappy marriage that leads her to murdering. Using the relationship between female and male characters throughout the play, Glaspell speaks up to emphasize how the patriarchal society underestimated women’s rights and restricted women’s desires.
Most people are very convinced that they have memories of past experiences because of the event itself or the bigger picture of the experience. According to Ulric Neisser, memories focus on the fact that the events outlined at one level of analysis may be components of other, larger events (Rubin 1). For instance, one will only remember receiving the letter of admission as their memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia. However, people do not realize that it is actually the small details that make up their memories. What make up the memory of being accepted into the University of Virginia are the hours spent on writing essays, the anxiety faced due to fear of not making into the university and the happiness upon hearing your admission into the school; these small details are very important in creating memories of this experience. If people’s minds are preset on merely thinking that memories are the general idea of their experiences, memories become very superficial and people will miss out on what matters most in life. Therefore, in “The Amityville Horror”, Jay Anson deliberately includes small details that are unnecessary in the story to prove that only memory can give meaning to life.
José Maria Eça de Queirós, though not worldly renowned, is arguably the greatest Portuguese novelist of his time. In 1877, he wrote a novel titled “The Tragedy of the Street of Flowers” (“The Tragedy”); however, it was not published until many years following his death. The novel is a tragic love story about a cocotte (prostitute) named Genoveva de Molineux and a lawyer named Vítor da Silva. The story follows the love between these two individuals which ultimately leads to the death of Genoveva. When first appearing in the orchestra audience in Lisbon, every man was attached to her beauty and wanted to know her. Vítor falls in love with Genoveva at first sight without previous knowledge that she is a high-class prostitute. However, the tragedy begins when Genoveva is told by Vítor’s uncle, Timóteo, that Vítor is her son. Unable to cope with what she had just learned, Genoveva commits suicide; neither herself nor Timóteo disclose the truth to Vítor. When asked about the novel, Eça had stated that it is a cruel story, one of the best he had yet written (at that time) and “a real literary and moral bombshell” (Queiroz, preface, ¶ 3-4). “...nineteenth century writers knew that incest in Greek Tragedy represented the protagonist’s hopeless fight against fate. Finding a close correspondence with contemporary Lisbon society, aimlessly debating political, economic and social problems, unable to control the nation’s destiny, does not require a great stretch of the imagination” (Ponte 79).
In the plays female sexuality is not expressed variously through courtship, pregnancy, childbearing, and remarriage, as it is in the period. Instead it is narrowly defined and contained by the conventions of Petrarchan love and cuckoldry. The first idealizes women as a catalyst to male virtue, insisting on their absolute purity. The second fears and mistrusts them for their (usually fantasized) infidelity, an infidelity that requires their actual or temporary elimination from the world of men, which then re-forms [sic] itself around the certainty of men’s shared victimization (Neely 127).
Memory is the tool we use to learn and think. We all use memory in our everyday lives. Memory is the mental faculty of retaining and recalling past experiences. We all reassure ourselves that our memories are accurate and precise. Many people believe that they would be able to remember anything from the event and the different features of the situation. Yet, people don’t realize the fact that the more you think about a situation the more likely the story will change. Our memories are not a camcorder or a camera. Our memory tends to be very selective and reconstructive.